Proex symptoms and conditions

I have been "self-medicating" with Seroquel for more than 4 years. I often take just 50 mg to get me to at least fall asleep for a couple of hours. When I tale the 100 mg tablet I sleep better for almost a whole 6 hours! I am a victim of my own distruction though; I drink coffee in massive quantities and smoke heavily. I do not have the weight gain but do have the surreal dreams and often a lower back ache which I normally atribute to the crummy mattress I sleep on. My main problem i; I start my regimine of meds and stop when I think I am better. I end up losing any job(s) I have and have to restart the drugs all over again. My doctor's have found a mix of epival (divol-proex) 1500 mg, for mood swings and the Seroquel should help my depression and bi-polar. I assume if I ever manage to stay on them both long enough to actually have a full affect I could be more helpful in suggesting this regimine to others. But a viscious circle starts with the drugs, when you are covered by any disability plan the drugs are accessible; but when you start working and exceed a certain income, the drug plan stops and becomes too costly to buy.

I am Bipolar, and I have been on many drugs. When I began taking Effexor, I was misdiagnosed and told that I was manic depressive. Anti-depressants can often make people with Bipolar worse. Effexor was the worst! My main issues were terrible, vivid nightmares and anger problems. The nightmares were bad, but after even one alchohlic beverage, I became enraged. I said and did things to my friends, that I would never do. I know you are not really suppose to drink on a lot of medication, but one drink? I became scared of myself and I am lucky to still have my friends.

I do know, that Effexor works for some people, because my dad is on it and he loves it. It just wasn't for me.